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| The Distinguished Visitor |
We have spent the last six summers on vacation in Hawaii where Sarah lives on Oahu. I always joke that I am so happy she moved somewhere that is perfect for vacation. (Nothing against Cleveland or Buffalo but she could be teaching in a destination not known for its tropical weather). I feel honored and special to get to come to Hawaii each year. When I drove with Sarah to drop her car off for service, her mechanic Kyle had this wonderful sign outside his shop that reminded me that I am indeed a distinguished visitor.
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| Waikiki Beach |
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| North Shore |
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| View from Diamond Head |
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| Palm Wonderful |
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| Bougainvillea Boogie |
The idea of a vacation is to vacate the mind- to rest and get away from your ordinary routine and to relax. I used to joke that when Ra El and I would go away by ourselves that was a vacation; when we went with the girls- that was a trip.
Starting to relax from the stresses of daily life is not the easiest thing to do but so far we have had some wonderful days on the amazing beaches as well a dinner in some lovely restaurants. Last night we enjoyed a Nepalise/Himalayan restaurant called Himalayan Kitchens serving mostly Indian food. It was a little too dark to take pictures but the food was wonderful. It was a BYOB so I bought a Buehler Zinfandel 2009 and a 2010 French Domaine Coussergues Viognier. I made several bad jokes/puns about Naan bread. I could tell everyone was relaxing as they laughed at my jokes- even the bad ones.
We have been very fortunate to have at our disposable a beautiful house in Hawaii Kai area (just outside of Honolulu) that is owned by a colleague that Sarah works with at The Punahou School. (Fun fact: President Obama went to Punahou when he was growing up in Hawaii). This family needed someone to take care of Ripley, a 2 year old black lab who loves to chase an orange ball head first into the swimming pool.
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| Ripley- believe it or not likes to chase an orange ball into the water |
Since we are cat people- we have to get used to this 60 pound puppy that will actually follow your commands. “Ripley, let’s go shee shee…” (That’s how we get her to do her business outside) Our cats are not good at responding to our commands so this is a new experience for us. I can’t imagine commanding Mango to do anything he didn’t want to do. As a matter of fact, I can’t imagine Fanny following anyone’s commands too.
We enjoyed a wonderful Mexican meal at Cholu’s on the North Shore. They served fabulous fish taco (Ahi or Opa) along with Magaritas, Coronas and Guacamole. Guacamole is Ra El’s friend since she loves all things avocado!
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| Fanny’s happy place |
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| Yes, please |
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| Gorgeous Guacamole |
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| Margarita Madness |
Traveling together in the car to the beach is also a bit of déjà vu since it reminds us of our excursions to Wrightsville Beach in North Carolina when the girls were little. When they were little, the girls would play together and we would always take funny photographs.
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| Who is the actress? |
Today these visits are just day trips but it is still wonderful to be along the wonderful coast lines on the north shore or Kailua area. I love being together with them and just having time to relax and laugh at wonderful little things that make up special moments.
Hawaii is filled with special moments and rainbows- you find them near the KillerTacos.
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| KillerTacos in Hawaii |
love love love this post 🙂 miss you guys oh so much – hope you are having a fabulous time. I know you are.